Trench shoring frame



Nov. 25, 1969 A. R. s. MORRICE THENCH SHORING FRAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb; 26; I968 IIIIIIIIIIIIflIIII-Illlllll'l I1 I w H I l I I I l I l l I I I I I I I L I Nov. 25, 1969 A. R. s. MORRICE TRENCH SHORING FRAME 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1968 INVENTOQ A. R. S. MORRICE BY JZQLZW Nov. 25, 1969 A. R. s. MORRlCE TRENCH SHORING FRAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 26, 1968 MORR'ICE United States Patent 3,479,827 TRENCH SHORING FRAME Anthony Ronald Seaton Morrice, 79 Oakdale, Harrogate, England Filed Feb. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 708,206 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Mar. 3, 1967, 10,109/ 67 Int. Cl. E21d /00, 5/11 US. Cl. 6l41 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A trench shoring apparatus for laying pipeline in a trench adapted to change direction during the digging of the trench at the required angle without need for liftmg the apparatus out of the formed trench, comprising a frame having a rigid thrust plate, vertical side Walls formed with at least two telescoping members, jack assemblies connecting the side walls to the thrust plate,

and a plurality of cross-members extending between the This invention relates to the construction of a pipeline or other work in a trench and is particularly concerned with the support of the trench sides whilst pipes are laid or other work carried out in the trench. The present invention has as its object to provide an improvement or modification of the invention described and claimed in the complete specification of my copending patent application Nos. 3,945 and 15,332 of 1965.

In the above-described complete specification there is described and claimed a trench shoring frame comprising broadly, a rigid thrust plate and two vertical or substantially vertical side shields which are maintained in horizontally spaced-apart relationship by a plurality of struts at the leading and trailing ends of the side shields. The side shields are movably connected to the thrust plate through the intermediaries of a number of jack assemblies which are operable to cause relative movement between the thrust plate and side shields.

Whilst the above-described apparatus has been satisfactory in use, the apparatus is not, as is often required, able to change direction except by striking ofi a trench at the required angle to the previous direction of travel lifting the apparatus out of the formed trench and reinserting the apparatus at the required angle.

It would therefore be very advantageous, both as regards time and expenditure, if the apparatus were inherently capable of changing its direction, and the present invention seeks to achieve this advantage.

Accordingly the present invention provides a trench shoring frame comprising a pair of side walls for engaging opposed trench sides, a plurality of cross-members extending between said side Walls, said side walls and said cross-members defining a working zone and at least one of said cross-members being operable to move said side walls towards and away from each other, and a thrust plate located at or adjacent the rear of said working zone and being movably connected to the structure formed by said side walls and cross-members by one or F more jacks, whereby When the shoring frame is set in a trench the shoring frame will support full side loads,

3,479,827 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 and will be movable along the trench by operation of said jack or jacks driving the structure when the thrust plate bears on soil behind said thrust plate.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of apparatus according to the invention taken on line II of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevation on line IVW of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional elevation on line VV of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic plan views of the apparatus in course of operation.

Referring to the drawings and firstly to FIGURES 1 to 3 there is illustrated a trench shoring frame comprising a pair of mutually spaced, vertical side walls, indicated generally by reference numerals 2 and 4, which are movably connected by two pairs of double-acting jack assemblies 8 and 9 to a vertical or substantially vertical thrust plate 6. The front edges 3 and 5 (FIGURE 2) of the side walls 2 and 4 are tapered so as to form cutting edges.

As will best be seen in FIGURES 1 and 3, the side walls 2 and 4 are each formed in three sections, upper sections 2A and 4A, intermediate sections 2B and 4B, and lower sections 2C and 4C. The sections 2A, 2C and 4A, 4C are slidable into and out of sections 2B and 4B respectively as will be explained later.

The sections 2A and 4A of side walls 2 and 4 are each composed of horizontal and vertical walings 10 and 12 which are enclosed by side plates 14 and 16, the vertical walings 12 extending downwardly beyond the lower extremities of the side plates 14 and 16 into the intermediate sections 2B and 4B (see FIGURE 1). The horizontal walings 10 are socketed to allow the vertical walings 12 to extend downwardly. The sections 2C and 4C are similarly composed by vertical and horizontal walings 18 and 20 and side plates 22 and 24, the vertical walings 18 extending upwardly beyond the upper extremities of side plates 22 and 24 into the intermediate sections 2B and 4B. The intermediate sections 2B and 4B are each composed of vertical and horizontal walings 26 and 28 and side plates 30 and 32, the walings 26 being of a size capable of slidably accommodating the walings 12 and 18 of the sections 2A, 4A and 20, 4C.

The thrust plate 6 is composed of horizontal walings 38 and plates 42 and 44, and has a recess 46 at its lower edge.

The pairs of jack assemblies 8 and 9 which as previously mentioned are double-acting, are pivotally connected at 48 and 50 to side plates 49 to 51 secured to their respective side walls 2 and 4, and are pivotally connected at 52 and 54 at their other ends to the thrust plate 6. The upper and lower pairs of jack assemblies may be operated independently, or the four jack assemblies may be operated together.

The side walls 2 and 4 in addition to being interconnected through the intermediaries of the jack assemblies 8 and 9 and thrust plate 6, are also interconnected by struts and 62 located towards the front of the side walls and hinges 64 located towards the rear of the side walls. The hinges 64 each comprise a pair of sliding cooperating plates 66 and 68.

The struts 60 and 62 are each formed as expandable struts in the form of double-acting cylinder and ram arrangements, the strut 62 being shown in detail in FIG- URE 4. Strut 62 comprises a cylinder 72 and a pair of cooperating rams 74 and 76, the cylinder 72 being located within a tubular member 78 which is pin-jointed at 80 and 82 to the side walls 2 and 4. At the outermost ends of the rams 74 and 76, the latter are each provided with a head 86 which, during normal operation of the shoring frame, lie within recesses 88 in the side walls 2 and 4. A removable U-shaped collar 90 located in a peripheral recess 92 of the rams is provided to retain the head 86 in correct relationship with the cylinder 72 and side walls 2 and 4 and the purpose of the collar being removable will be hereinafter explained. It will be appreciated that the strut 60 is identical in construction to the strut 62.

In addition to the struts 60 and 62 at the leading edges of the shoring frame, there is provided a member 96 which is preferably triangular so that the leading face may act as a cutting edge to trim off the surface of the trench being formed. Such member 96 may conveniently be composed of a pair of sliding, triangular hollow members.

Guard rails 100 and 102 may be socketed into the upper sections 2A and 4A of the side walls 2 and 4.

To support the thrust plate 6 'and to enable it to pivot during operation of the apparatus, a pair of sliding members 104 running in guides 106 is provided.

The shoring frame may be operated directly from the excavator, or alternatively the shoring frame may be independently operated.

In operation, the shoring frame is set in a trench 110, an excavator (not shown) straddling a pilot trench formed to expose and avoid damage to any existing services or pipes (not shown). The required trench is formed by a bucket of the excavator, the removed spoil being returned, if desired, directly behind the thrust plate 6 via a hopper or chute 112.

Hydraulic power is then applied via the jack assemblies 8 and 9 to the thrust plate 6 and because the leading edges 3 and 5 of the side walls 2 and 4 cannot move forwardly since they are bearing on unexcavated ground, the thrust plate 6 will move rearwardly to a position indicated by reference numeral 6A in order to compact the return spoil. Further application of power to the jack assemblies 8 and 9 will cause the spoil to be further compacted until the resistance of the spoil is equal or substantially equal to the undisturbed ground, whereafter the side walls 2 and 4 will move forwardly relative to the now stationary thrust plate 6 as excavation of the trench face proceeds. Pipes or other services are then laid and the process repeated. A more detailed description of the above aspects of operation may be had by referring to the complete specification of my copending patent application Nos. 3,945 and 15,332 of 1965.

Turning now to the main features of the present invention, it may be that a change of direction of travel of the shoring frame is required. When such is the case, the trench is progressively widened to the position as indicated at 112 in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 by striking olf at the required angle of travel. The members 78 of struts 60 and 62 are disconnected from the side wall 4 by removal of the pins of pin joints 80. Hydraulic power is progressively applied to the pistons of rams 76 and since the members 78 and side wall 2 cannot move because side wall 2 bears against the left-hand wall 114 of the trench, rams 76 move progressively outwardly relative to the cylinder 72 and side wall 4 moves progressively away from the side wall 2 to its ultimate position shown in FIGURE 7. Such movement of side wall 2 occurs since it remains connected to the rams 76 by the collars 90.

When the side wall 2 reaches the position shown in FIGURE 7, the collars 90 adjacent the side wall 4 are removed which thus disconnects the rams 74 from the side wall 4, but the pins of pin joints 82 remain in position to connect the side wall 4 to the members 78. Hydraulic power is then applied to the piston of rams 74, so as to cause the heads 86 to move from the recesses 88 and bear against the side wall 114 of the trench. Continued application of hydraulic power then causes the side 4 wall 4 to move towards the side wall 2 to the position shown in FIGURE 8, since when the head 86 of ram 74 engages side 114 of the trench the hydraulic power is transmitted from the piston of ram 74 to the end of the cylinder adjacent the ram 76. During movement of side wall 4, the space between the side wall 114 of the trench and the outer surface of side wall 4 may be progressively filled with suitable material.

During such movement of the side walls 2 and 4, the thrust plate 6 is moving in unison due to the hinge 64 and the trailing edges of the side walls 2 and 4 are cut away to allow the walls and plate to move closer together.

Thus the shoring frame is moved to its required position and operation of the frame may take place as previously described.

It will be appreciated that the walls 2 and 4 may be moved in the opposite direction if desired simply by moving the side wall 4 first.

The shoring frame is shown in the drawings in its fully extended position and where the trench is not required to be so deep, the sections 2A, 20 and 4A, 40 may be retracted into the intermediate sections 2B and 4B by suitable hydraulic means (not shown). Recesses 11 and 13 are provided in the intermediate sections 2B and 4B to house the end of the expanding struts 60 and 62, when sections 2A, 2C and 4A, 4C are so retracted, recesses 13 also accommodating the ends of member 96. When in their retracted positions, the lower extremities of sections 20 and 4C will be flush or substantially flush with the lower extremities of sections 23 and 48.

It will be understood that sections 2A, 4A and 2C, 4C, may be located at any desired position relative to the intermediate sections 2B and 4B.

The tipping hopper 112 may lie level over the trench in the loading area and may move through an angle of 65 to 70 to direct the spoil to a position behind the thrust plate. This will decrease the reach necessary and will thus enable short arm excavators to be used for the operation of the apparatus. The tipping of the hopper will be hydraulic and preferably operated from the excavator. Alternatively, it may be fixed as a chute at an angle of approximately 45.

To obviate the tendency for the side walls 2 and 4 to rotate downwardly during operation, a rigid member (not shown) may straddle and be secured to the side walls 2 and 4, such member being capable of being jacked up to the required height by hydraulic apparatus (not shown) so that the member may slide on rails located at the sides of the'trench. Thus the side walls 2 and 4 will remain level during operation of the shoring frame. Said member'may carry a pair of cutting bars which will project downwardly to contact and break up the road or other surface in advance of the excavator which is to form the trench. Also a scraper bar may be attached to the rear of the side shields to level the spoil returned to that section of the trench vacated by the frame during its forward progressing movement.

If the shoring frame could be utilised to lay relatively long lengths of pipe or the like, then the dangers related in the above-mentioned specification would be further reduced. Therefore, it is proposed to attach the leading end of the pipeline or the like to the apparatus. To achieve this, a collar or the like will be attached to either or both of the side walls, such that it is centrally located with respect to the side walls.

Preferably, the collar or the like will be in two sections pivotally secured together at one side such that they form an annular member when closed together.

The leading end of the pipeline would be passed through the annulus and the two halves brought together to engage behind the flange of the pipeline whereafter the two halves may be clamped or otherwise secured together. The shoring frame is then moved progressively forward as described in the above-mentioned specification thus also drawing the pipeline along.

In an alternative form, where a cable is to be laid in the trench, the collar will be in the form of jaws. Also, the pipeline or the like may be adapted to pass through a tube preferably made of fibreglass or other plastics material which may be internally lubricated with a liquid or semi-liquid substance.

Finally, the lower extremities of the side walls 2 and 4 may house dewatering equipment if desired and are tapered to form horizontal cutting edges so that the apparatus may be sunk or jacked into the ground as a caisson.

I claim:

1. A trench shoring apparatus for laying pipeline in a trench adapted to change direction during the digging and without need for lifting the apparatus out of the formed trench comprising:

a frame having a rigid thrust plate;

vertical side walls with at least two telescoping members, said side walls engaging opposed trench sides;

a plurality of cross-members extending between said side walls, said cross-members including expandable struts pivotally mounted on said side walls;

each of said struts comprising a double acting hydraulic cylinder and ram adjacent the leading end of the apparatus;

each of said rams being detachably connected to said side walls;

said side walls and said cross-members defining a working zone and at least one of said cross-members being operable to move one of said side walls towards and away from the other side wall;

said thrust plate being located at or adjacent the rear of a working zone and being movably connected to the structure formed by said side walls and crossmembers;

jack assemblies connecting the side walls to the thrust plate; and

hinge means at the rear of said side Wall and interconnecting said side walls, which hinge means cooperate with said expandable struts to adapt for the telescoping movement thereof whereby, when the shoring frame is set in a trench, the shoring frame will support full side loads and will be movable along the trench by operation of said jack assemblies driving the structure when the thrust plate bears on soil behind the thrust plate.

2. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hinge means comprises a pair of hinges, each of said hinges being composed of a plurality of sliding plates.

3. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said assemblies are pivotally connected to said side walls and said thrust plate.

4. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said jack assemblies comprise two pairs of vertically spaced jacks, said two pairs being independently Operable.

5. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said side walls are each formed in a plurality of sections which sections are vertically movable relatively to each other.

6. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the expandable struts are connected to and are vertically movable with the uppermost and lowermost of said sections of said side walls.

7. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said side walls carry therebetween a collar means adjacent the rams.

8. A trench shoring apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said side Walls carry a transversely located bearer member on their upper surfaces, said bearer member engaging a pair of rails located at the sides of the trench so as to maintain substantially constant the depth of the trench.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,935,704 11/1933 Fields et a1 61-4l X 2,922,283 1/1960 Porter 6l41 3,089,310 5/1963 Torti 61-41 JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 61-63 

